


Carlos's Other Hobby

by mustachio



Category: Welcome to Night Vale
Genre: Carlos Likes to Dress Cats Up Like People, Fluff, M/M, Science Isn't The Only Thing That Distracts Carlos
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-03-28
Updated: 2014-03-28
Packaged: 2018-01-17 07:24:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,349
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1378993
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mustachio/pseuds/mustachio
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Cecil likes that even after a year of dating there's still more to learn about Carlos. He just wishes he'd had some warning before he learned about this one.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Carlos's Other Hobby

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by [this](http://perennialtransition.tumblr.com/post/80940965826/also-i-like-to-think-that-cat-vale-is-cat-scientist).

Cecil comes home one night to find the inside of the house covered in cats.

They aren’t the same type of cat as Khoshekh, but the type of cat Carlos claims is normal everywhere outside of Night Vale. More like the type of cat he watches on those YouTube videos. A few of them rub up against Cecil’s leg as he moves through the house, most of them stay where they are and watch him lazily from a distance.

The cats are cute and it takes all of his self-control not to spend at least five minutes with each of them, marveling over how cute they are. There’s something a little more important he has to do now—find Carlos. Carlos must be somewhere in this mess of cats and Cecil would really like to find him before any more cats manifest and take up what little space is left in the house.

“Carlos?”

If Carlos is home, he doesn’t seem to hear Cecil. That could mean he’s buried under a pile of cats and needs help. It could also mean he’s engrossed in some science experiment in the basement. He could also be engrossed in an experiment that requires him to be buried under a pile of cats. Whatever the reason, the lack of response worries and irritates Cecil and he finds himself walking a little faster though the maze of cats to the kitchen.

As he walks, Cecil notices a few of the cats are wearing things. There’s one cat in a Big Rico’s shirt with a big grease stain in the middle that reminds Cecil of Rico himself. Another cat is wearing a hair tie behind its ear that Cecil could swear is the one Intern Vithya wore before she ascended to heaven.

The closer Cecil gets to the kitchen, the more cats there are wearing very familiar items. One cat has a cardigan that looks suspiciously like Old Woman Josie’s favorite cardigan and another has a Boy Scout hat resting precariously on its head.

“Carlos, did the entire town turn into cats while I was doing my show?”

Cecil is pretty sure he would have known about it if that had happened, but it’s always better to be safe and ask than to assume. Unfortunately, Carlos still doesn’t answer and Cecil fears that maybe everyone, Carlos included, really did turn into cats. Cecil swallows and looks around at the sea of cats. What is he going to do if that’s true? Carlos is usually the one to save the town now, but how can that happen if he’s a cat?

He rounds the corner to enter the kitchen and nearly doubles over from the force of his relief. He lets out a sigh and rushes over to where Carlos is standing.

“Carlos, there you are why didn’t you—Carlos, what are you doing?”

Cecil stops about a foot away from where Carlos is currently tying the dinosaur patterned bow tie Cecil got him for his birthday around a cat’s neck. A particularly friendly cat makes its way over to Cecil, climbing up to rest on top of Cecil’s hair, forcing him to remove his glasses before the cat can do any damage.

“Carlos, did you bring all of these cats here?” Carlos is still so focused on the cat in front of him that he barely even notices Cecil is speaking to him. “I know you like these things, but you can’t bring them all home like this. Why are you—“

Cecil’s next question is cut short when his glasses are removed from his hand. The cat on his head is hanging over his eyes making it difficult to see what Carlos is doing now. When Cecil adjusts the cat on his head so that he can see, he’s just in time to see Carlos reaching up to place Cecil’s glasses on the cat on Cecil’s head. The cat jumps down from his head and walks in the direction of the cat now wearing Carlos’s bow tie.

“Why did you give that cat my glasses? I need those.” In the nearly two years since Carlos has been in Night Vale, Cecil has never been less impressed with him. “And why did you give that cat your bow tie? I gave that to you as a birthday present.”

When Cecil pouts Carlos smiles, leaning over to press a kiss to Cecil’s cheek.

“They’re Carlocat and Cecat now. Look, I think they like each other.”

Cecil looks at the two cats (which are more like fuzzy blobs without his glasses) to see they’ve started to rub against each other looking for all the world like the happiest cats in the world. It manages to bring a smile to Cecil’s face, despite his slight annoyance at Carlos’s lack of answers to his questions. Carlos leans against Cecil, also looking at the cats with a smile.

“I’ve been taking care of these cats for a while now,” Carlos says. “I’d find them roaming around so I took them to live in the apartment above the lab. They were all staying there until this morning. Now that I’m not living there anymore, we decided to use the extra space for some equipment that never had a good place. It turns out one of my grad students is allergic, though, so I brought them home. I hope you don’t mind too much.”

“Why did you dress them all up like people?”

Carlos shrugs. “I just thought it would be cute.”

Cecil lets out a snort that could be masking a laugh, but could also just be a snort. He takes Carlos’s hand in his, resting his head on Carlos’s, and pressing a kiss to that perfect hair.

“You aren’t completely wrong.”

“Look at this.”

Carlos separates himself from Cecil to walk over to the cat wearing Cecil’s glasses—Cecat, if he wants to go by Carlos’s slightly ridiculous names for them. Carlos clears his throat, picking Cecat up and holding him up in front of his face.

“Hi, Cecil. My name is Cecat. I like coffee and Carlocat’s perfect fur.” Cecil is pretty sure Carlos is trying to do an imitation of him with the way he’s trying to get his voice so much lower than it usually is. It’s an awful imitation and Cecil places a hand over his mouth to try to hide his laughter, but fails miserably. He doesn’t feel too bad about laughing at Carlos, though. Carlos’s grin suggests Cecil’s laughter is exactly what he’d been going for in the first place.

Picking up Carlocat, Cecil hides his mouth behind the cat’s head and moves its paw so that it looks like it’s waving at Carlos and Cecat.

“Hi, Cecat. I like your fur too. I also like science.” Cecil’s attempt at sounding like Carlos are just as successful as Carlos’s attempt at sounding like Cecil and soon they both have to put the cats down before they drop them in their fits of laughter.

When they finally calm down again, they make their way out to the couch where they have to clear off at least fifteen cats before they can settle down in front of the TV, which is also covered in cats. Cecat and Carlocat get settled in their laps while Cecil and Carlos snuggle up to each other.

“Do you have a cat for everyone in town?”

“Not everyone. I’m sure I could find some. Or maybe genetically engineer some.” Carlos shifts slightly and Cecil can tell he’s getting excited at the possibility of creating more cats in the lab. It’s one of Carlos’s scientific ideas that Cecil isn’t too enthused about.

“Maybe you shouldn’t. I don’t think we’ll have room for any more cats. I think we might have to give some of them to other people.”

“That’s probably a better idea.”

They spend the next few minutes in a comfortable silence until Cecil notices one cat in particular.

“Carlos?”

“Hmm…?”

“That tan cat wearing a sweater with a picture of an old hubcap isn’t supposed to be Steve Carlsberg, is it?”


End file.
